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Karilyn
How to Pronounce Karilyn
Pronounced KAIR-ih-lin /ˈkɛr.ɪ.lɪn/Medium
Meaning: Karilyn is a mid-twentieth-century blend, joining Kari or Carolyn to the fashionable -lyn ending. Carolyn is a feminine of Charles, from a Germanic root meaning 'free man'. Karilyn reads as a coined elaboration built for its sound, carrying that lineage through its Caro-/Kari- element.Low
Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Karilyn is a mid-century American blend, uniting Kari or Carolyn with the popular -lyn ending. Carolyn is a feminine form of Charles, from a Germanic root meaning 'free man'. Names built with -lyn - Karilyn, Sherilyn, Marilyn - flourished from the 1930s onward, and Karilyn is one of the rarer members.
Karilyn was never common - only a few dozen girls a year at its faint peak around 1978, thinly spread over the mid-to-late century. It reads as a coined -lyn name of its era rather than an inherited one, and it has stayed a genuine rarity.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Karilyn mean?
Karilyn is a blend of Carolyn or Kari with a -lyn ending; Carolyn comes from a root meaning 'free man'.
How do you pronounce Karilyn?
It's said KAIR-ih-lin /ˈkɛr.ɪ.lɪn/ - three syllables, stress on the first.
Is Karilyn a boy or girl name?
Karilyn is used as a girl's name.
How popular is Karilyn?
Karilyn has always been rare, a mid-century coined -lyn name.